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Sunday, July 22, 2012

Chicago weekend

A great weekend and Half in Chicago. I wanted to blog last night to go over my Saturday but ended up going to bed a bit early for this morning's race. So here a recap of events.

Yesterday was Expo day to pick up my packet. However, prior to heading out to McCormick Place Amanda and I stopped at Francesca's Forno in Wicker Park for brunch. This is a great place. It has big chandeliers and open windows looking out on the street that let in a nice breeze on an already hot day in Chicago. It was a nice way to start the day with a bloody Mary and eggs Benedict. But, not just any eggs Benedict. This was eggs Benedict with risotto. A great combination. The roasted potatoes has a pepper seasoning that was great and added a little fun to your standard roasted potato. In a word: delicious.

From there we headed to the Expo which is on Lake Shore Drive near the shore of Lake Michigan. It provided some great views. We picked up my packet and took some nice Expo pics. From there we headed back downtown to Michigan Avenue where Amanda showed me "Mag Mile." To you non Chicago people, that's Magnificent Mile. It's a mile of restaurants, bars, and shopping that I'd say is something similar to NYC's Fifth Avenue. We took in the sights before heading back to Bucktown for dinner and an early night for race day (starting at 6:30)

The Chicago Half was great. It started and ended at Grant Park. Here's a little tour for you: http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/2012/07/chicago/2012-rock-n-roll-chicago-course-tour_32408

It went all through The Loop and along Lake Michigan giving a nice tour of Chicago. The hills (as we all know my downfall) were not bad at all and I felt good throughout the race. The only negative experience along the race worth mentioning is something that happened to the arch of my right foot. For lack of a better description, I'd say it was going into spasms. As I planted my foot and extended my arch I'd feel it twitching so after a while I of course got concerned. I stopped for one minute to walk and see how it felt slowing down. It stopped and felt fine. So I continued but took a slower pace. I'm certain this is related to my Plantar Fasciitis. It did not hurt but it's going to require a quick look by the doctor. I don't want to take any chances.

I finished in 1:43:06 and placed 666 overall out of 14,881. In my age group (30-34) I placed 101 out of 1095. My pace was 7:52 You can see the results here. I'm happy with this considering I did not like how I finished in Connecticut. I'll now get ready for Rhode Island in four weeks. I'd of course like to bring my time down and back to the 1:30s but will be taking it slow out of concerns for my foot. I travel to Providence with my sister Maria and brother-in-law Rich which will be fun. This will be their first travel with me to a Half.

I'm now relaxing a bit until my flight back to DC tonight at 7. A great weekend in Chicago with my buddy Amanda. She was the best host I could ask for. Up next: Rhode Island